Liquid ring pumps and systems



F. W. BAILEY June a, 1967 LIQUID RING PUMPS AND SYSTEMS Filed Feb.

6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOIR FRANK W BAILEY w A ORNEY June 6, 1967 Filed Feb. 5, 1965 F. w. BAILEY 3,323,709

LIQUID RING PUMPS AND SYSTEMS 6 Sheets-Sheet F R AN K W. 8 Al LE Y June 6, 1967 P. w. BAILEY 3,323,709

7 LIQUID RING PUMPS AND SYSTEMS Filed Feb. 5, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.5

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F. W. BAILEY June 6, 1967 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Feb. 5, 1965 INVENTOR FRANK W. BAILEY BY Z k onuzvsza -w 8 ON. Nazi; :3 7 E LA a m x? 5 A KS 2.

United States Patent 3,323,709 LIQUID RING PUMPS AND gYSTEMS Frank W. Bailey, Wayne, Ni, assignor to Operation Oil Heat Associates, Inc, New York, N.Y. Filed Feb. 3, 1965, Ser. No. 430,147 16 Claims. (Q1. Bil-44) This invention relates to liquid-ring pumps for pumping air or other gases and having a rotating casing with an impeller and a valve body which are concentric within the casing. Also, the invention relates to liquid fuel burner systems wherein the liquid fuel is pumped and atomized by a liquid-ring pump and combustion air is supplied by the system.

In liquid-ring pumps prior to the present invention complex seal structures have often been required to prevent leakage of the liquid around the mechanical connection to the impeller. In many of the prior pumps utilizing liquid-rings to provide the pumping action, the casing of the pump has been stationary and the rotating impeller has been eccentrically positioned within the casing, causing seal problems. In these prior pumps the liquid ring is impelled so as to flow adjacent to the stationary wall of the casing. This flow of the liquid adjacent to a stationary wall causes turbulence within the circulating liquid which wastes driving energy so that the overall efliciency of the pump is low. In addition, the stationary walls caused by circulation of the fluid along the boundary layer to the axis of the pump, resulting in flow losses. Also, the resulting output gas pressure from the pump is low. In some of these prior pumps the eccentric parts are independently supported and the housing is an open cup arrangement, which is bulky, subject to spillage and susceptible to contamination. They are noisy in operation because sound propagates out through the open cup. In many of these prior liquid-ring pumps the operating parts have been assembled in a complicated structure, in many cases the valve body has been eccentrically located, so that the resulting pumps have been expensive to manufacture. Moreover, these prior pump structures have usually involved very close clearance between the moving and stationary parts; This precision has required expensive machining operations which contributed further to the expense of fabricating these complex pumps.

It is an object of the present invention to provide liquid-ring pumps which are simple in construction and compact and yet which provide a high output pressure and also a superior overall operating efficiency.

It is another object of the present invention to provide liquid-ring pumps having a rotating casing and a rotating impeller within the casing which is concentric with the axis of rotation of the casing and having a valve body which is also concentric, the whole pump being easy to assemble, utilizing low-cost parts.

A further object of the present invention is to provide liquid-ring pumps having rotating casing with loose tolerance between the moving parts so that the pump is easy to fabricate and has a long operating life, and, nevertheless achieves a superior performance and efficiency.

Another object is to avoid the seal friction drag which is characteristic of conventional pumps and which requires a high starting torque motor to assure breakaway from static seal friction at starting. The illustrative embodiments of this invention are adapted to start reliably by a motor of low starting torque, which provides substantial cost reduction and improved reliability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide liquid-ring pumps for use in liquid-fuel burner systems wherein the liquid fuel is lifted from its reservoir and is atomized by the gas which is being pumped by the liquidring pumps.

Among the many advantages of the present invention are those resulting from the fact that a stable vortex is provided within the pump providing centrifugal separation between the lighter and heavier fluids so that frothing is avoided. In most cases the lighter fluid is a gas or combination of gases, but the illustrative embodiments of the present invention are adapted to pump a liquid which is less dense than that which forms the liquid ring. In these illustrative embodiments the impeller blades extend out to the outer casing which is rotating, and thus the impeller blades are very effective in imparting impetus to the liquid ring. As a result, the liquid ring circulates rapidly; it possesses a substantial vortex energy and is firmly stabilized by centrifugal force. This liquid ring is forcibly shifted in-and-out of revolving concentric pockets and serves as a moving liquid piston to provide the pumping action.

In the illustrative embodiments of the present invention, described herein, the pump casing rotates and may be adapted to be connected directly to the end of a motor drive shaft. The impeller is concentrically positioned Within the casing and has a multitude of blades which rotate with the casing and may be connected to the casing as shown so as to reinforce the blades and casing. A rotor is eccentrical-ly positioned within the casing adjacent to the impeller blades and this rotor forces the ring of liquid which is rotating with the casing to be displaced cyclically into and out of the spaces between the impeller blades. This cyclical displacement of the liquid into and out of these spaces provides a positive pumping action with respect to the less dense fluid which is induced to enter within these spaces and subsequently is pressurized by the liquid ring.

In one embodiment of the invention this eccentric rotor is freely rotatable and is driven by the liquid ring. In other embodiments the eccentric rotor is mechanically driven.

In the embodiments of the invention which are described herein as being illustrative of certain applications of this invention the liquid ring is composed of a liquid fuel, and the gas which is being pumped is air. Also, by virtue of the fact that the casing itself is rotating, the rotating casing may define a blower for providing a large volume of air at low pressure. In these illustrative examples the liquid-ring pump provides a flow of air at high pressure while the blower provides a large volume flow of air at lower pressure. This apparatus is well adapted for use in liquid fuel burners such as domestic oil burners for space heating and water heating purposes. The flow of higher pressure air from the liquid-ring pump may be utilized to lift the fuel oil from the tank or reservoir and also serves to aspirate the liquid fuel so as to atomize it, while the large volume of low pressure air is blow into the burner to provide air for supporting combustion of the atomized fuel. Also, the blower may serve to cool the drive motor.

In an alternative arrangement the fuel oil may be connected to the intake of the pump so that the oil is drawn through the pump together with the air being pumped.

The illustrative embodiments of the invention are well suited for use with all types of liquid fuels. Heavier fuels such as bunker oil, residual oil, and the like may also be used when they are heated so as to be of sufficiently low viscosity, as will be understood. For convenience herein, the term fuel oil or oil will be used, but it will be understood that this term is intended to include all of these conventional fuels. Also, in other applications the liquid ring may be composed of water, mercury, or other fluid material, depending upon the desired temperature of operation. For example, at temperatures below room temperature, the liquid ring may include liquefied petroleum gas, such as pressurized propane, or other liquefied material under pressure which is normally gaseous at room temperature. Hence, it is intended that the term liquidring or ring of liquid material be interpreted to include a liquefied gas or combination liquefied gases.

In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the impeller blades and the liquid-displacing rotor are formed of die-molded rigid plastic material, e.g. polymerized fluorocarbons, polyamides, acetal resins, and the like. It will be appreciated that the design of this illustrative embodiment lends itself to the fabrication of many of the parts from low-cost materials using inexpensive mass production molding and stamping techniques, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Among the further advantages of the illustrative systems are those resulting from the fact that the oil being supplied to the burner is subjected to negligible frictional heating, and consequently there is very little variation in viscosity due to changes associated with fluid friction. This uniformity of viscosity assures relatively accurate metering of the fuel by conventional orifice means feeding the nozzle and hence uniform fuel feed rates and uniform combustion conditions are provided.

Other aspects, features and advantages, of the present invention will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section of a liquid-ring pump system embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view on reduced scale of FIG- DRE 1 as seen looking along the direction 22 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of the pump of FIGURE 1 taken along the plane 3-3 which passes through the rotor;

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view of the pump of FIGURE .1 taken along the plane 4-4 which passes between the rotor and the impeller;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view of the pump of FIGURE 1 taken along the plane 5-5 passing through the impeller;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the cylinder valve body including the rotor bearing eccentrically positioned thereon;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the rotor;

FIGURE 8 illustrates a modified embodiment of the liquid-ring pump of FIGURES 17;

FIGURE 9 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 99 in FIGURE 8 illustrating the mechanical drive connection for the rotor;

FIGURE 10 illustrates a further modification of the liquid-ring pumps of FIGURES 1-9;

FIGURE 11 is a cross sectional view along the line 1111 in FIGURE 10 passing through the rotor; and

FIGURES 12-44 are schematic circuit diagrams of three different liquid fuel burner systems, each one of which may incorporate any one of the foregoing embodiments of the liquid-ring pumps.

In the embodiment of the liquid-ring of the present invention as shown in FIGURES 1-7, drive means 10 which may be any suitable rotary drive means for example such as an electric motor has its shaft 12 directly coupled to a rotating hub section 14 which is attached to one radial wall 15 of a rotatable pump casing 16. The other wall 17 of the rotary casing 16 has a cup shape and is clinched onto a hub sleeve member 18 which serves as a sleeve valve. This hub member 18 rotates about a stationary shaft 20 forming a valve body (FIG. 6) having an intake passage 21 and a discharge passage 22 extending longitudinally therein. A support bracket 24 holds the stationary valve member 20 and is attached to a base 26. In order to provide connections to the intake and discharge passages 21 and 22, a pair of tubing pipe lines 31 and 32, respectively, are suitably connected by coupling means 28 to the passages 21 and 22 in the valve member 20.

As shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 a star-shaped impeller 30 is concentrically positioned within the rotating casing 16, with the annular hub of this impeller surrounding the sleeve 13, and the impeller blades 34 extend out to the casing. In this embodiment the impeller blades 34 are inexpensively formed, for example, of rigid plastic material and are secured to the casing 16 as by epoxy cement, thus reinforcing the blades themselves and the rotating casing. These blades define sector shaped pockets 36 (FIG. 4) which are uniformly positioned about the hub sleeve member 18, and valve ports 38 (FIG. 5) extend out through this sleeve member 18 and through the annular hub 35. These ports 38 provide communication between the pockets 36 and a pair of recesses 41 and 42 (FIGS. 5 and 6) in opposite sides of the valve body 20 which serve as the intake and discharge chambers communicating with the passages 21 and 22.

During operation of the pump 8, the casing 16 and impeller 30 rotate, for example, counter-clockwise as seen in FIGURES 25, and liquid 39 within the pockets 36 is centrifuged out as shown in FIGURE 5 to form a stable liquid ring having an interface with the less dense fluid which is being pumped.

In order to produce a pumping action, an eccentrically positioned circular rotor 44 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 7) is located in a cavity within the casing 16 which is axially displaced from the pockets 36, and this rotor 44 displaces the liquid 39 into and out of the pockets 36. This rotor 44 is mounted on a ball bearing assembly 46 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 6) which is held by a stub shaft 48 (FIG. 6) projecting from the end of the valve body 20. In this embodiment the rotor 44 is free-wheeling. As shown in FIGURE 1 the perimeter 50 of this rotor slopes inwardly toward the pockets 36, and there are numerous small square-ended blades 52 projecting out from the perimeter 50.

These rotor blades 52 perform three functions. (1) They prevent the liquid from eddying around the edges of the impeller blades 34, thus providing additional stability in the liquid ring and increasing the total pump displacement efiiciency and output pressure. (2) They prevent a compressional shock wave from transmitting itself backward through the revolving liquid ring toward the suction side, thus further stabilizing the liquid ring. (3) They impart torque hydraulically for rotating the free rotor 44 so that it turns at substantially the same speed as the casing 16, thus avoiding turbulence losses in the liquid.

Although these rotor blades 52 do improve the performance substantially as explained, this pump will operate satisfactorily without them, i.e., with a purely disc-like rotor, for applications in which the added simplicity of the pump is desirable and its lower output pressure and efiiciency are acceptible.

A circular baffle plate 54 (FIGS. 1 and 4) is clinched onto the opposite end of the sleeve 18 from the casing wall 17, and this baffie extends out over the blades 34 near to the face of the rotor 44 so as to separate the fiuid in the interior of the pockets 36 from the rotor. The perimeter 56 of the baffle 54- as seen near the left of FIGURE 1 forms a streamlined continuation of the perimeter 50 of the rotor 44 at the position where they are adjacent one to another for accommodating the axial displacement of the liquid 39 in flowing between the pockets 36 and the crescent-shaped cavity (FIG. 3) defined by the concentric casing 16 and eccentric rotor 44.

The effective inward and outward motion of the liquidring interface 40 produces a strong suction in the chamber 41 and intake passage 21 and produces a substantial pressure in the output chamber 42 and discharge passage 22.

A centrifugal blower 58 may be secured to the casing 16 so that the blades 60 draw air around and through the motor 10 to cool it and also the liquid-ring pump. This air is blown out into a housing scroll 62 (FIGURE 2) which is mounted on supports 63 on the base 26 and has an outlet duct 64 for supplying a large volume flow of air at low pressure.

The motor is mounted on rubber grommets 65 held by an annular frame 67 which is secured to the base 26.

The embodiment of the liquid-ring pump shown in FIG- URES 8 and 9 is identical to that shown in FIGURES 1-7, except that the rotor 44 is mechanically driven at substantially constant velocity equal to that of the casing 16. As shown in FIGURE 9 a plurality of drive pins 66 secured to the casing wall 15 extend into and engage with circular sockets 68 in the back face of the rotor. These sockets 68 are sufiiciently large to accommodate the eccentricity of the rotor axis 69 with respect to the axis 70 of the rotating casing 16.

In the embodiment of the liquid-ring pump shown in FIGURES and 11 the rotor 44A includes radially movable vanes 72 slidably held in slots 74 in the rotor. These vanes touch the inner surface of the casing 16 and are very effective in providing the various functions described in connection with the fixed blades 52. The rotor 44A may be hydraulically driven as in the pump of FIGURES 1-7 or it may be mechanically driven as in the pump of FIGURES 8 and 9. The inner ends of the slots 74 are interconnected by a circular groove 76 in the face of the rotor so as to provide pressure equalization between their inner ends.

It is noted that there is less internal friction in this liquidring pump than in so called vane pumps because herein the vanes 72 revolve with a rotating casing 16. 1

In the liquid fuel burner system of FIGURE 12, liquid fuel, for example such as kerosene, gasoline, alcohol, Nos. 1 and 2 fuel oil and similar liquid fuels are pumped by the liquid-ring pump P. This pump may be any one of the foregoing embodiments. The suction side of the pump is indicated by a negative sign and the discharge pressure side by a plus sign.

By virtue of the fact that the fuel is used as a liquidring sealant in the rotating pump, the intake line 31 is connected to the suction line 80 from the fuel storage tank 82. This connection is made through a three-way solenoid valve 84 and a fuel strainer 86. The air is drawn in through an air filter 88, and there is an air bleed connection 90 which by-passes the valve 84 so that a sufficient quantity of air is always being supplied to the burner nozzle 92.

The pump discharge pressure line 3-2 feeds into a small air-oil separating chamber 94 which contains a floatactuated mercury switch 96. An oil by-pass bleed connection 98 extends from the bottom of the separator 94 back to the pump intake line 31. A pressurized air supply line 100 runs from the top of the separator 94 to the burner nozzle 92 for aspirating and atomizing the fuel into a spray 102 of fine droplets. The fuel to be burned is fed from the bottom of the separator 94 through a metering orifice 104 and a line 106 into an air-atomizing venturi passage within the nozzle 92. Air to support combustion is supplied from the blower housing 62 through the duct 64 leading to the combustion zone 108.

When fuel is required to replenish the supply in the small separating chamber 94, the solenoid valve 84 is actuated by the float switch 96. The valve 84 normally shuts off the fuel supply line 81 and applies the full capacity of the pump P to the air intake line 89. When the valve 84 is actuated by the switch 96- as discussed above, then the suction in line 94 is applied to the fuel line 81 so that a portion of the pump capacity is used to pump fuel. This enables the use of a single pipe system, and it makes the burner insensitive to the relative level of fuel in the storage tank 82. The oil-air separating chamber prevents any instability in the air-atomizing nozzle 92 by avoiding liquid carry-over with the compressed air in line 100. The oil by-pass connection 98 allows the pump P to recycle a small portion of the fuel to minimize its effective clearance volume and to maintain a liberal oil film between the valve body 20 and valve sleeve 18 for additional sealing and lubrication action.

The system of FIGURE 13 is similar to the foregoing system, except that a greater fuel lifting action is attained with a relatively low pump discharge pressure by use of a jet-siphon apparatus 110. This apparatus 110 is operated by positive pressure from a line 112 which runs from the air pressure line 100. This positive air pressure discharges into the atmosphere through a venturi passage 114 in the siphon apparatus 110. The suction line 94 is connected through the valve 84 to a line 116 which opens into the expanding throat of the venturi. Thus, the apparatus 110 is operated by a pushpull action by pressurized air from line 112 and by suction applied by the line 116. This pushpull operation provides a substantially higher pressure differential across the venturi passage 114 and thus yields a high fuel lift capacity.

In the system of FIGURE 14 the liquid-ring pump operates a rotary atomizer nozzle 118 in a substantially closed-loop arrangement. A line 120 runs from the nozzle 118 back to the venturi passage 114, and the oil supply line is connected through an on-off solenoid valve 122.

It is to be noted that the illustrative embodiments of the present invention are well adapted to be modified so as to perform as a double-acting pump. For example to do this in FIGURE 1 the motor 10 and blower 58 are removed and the casing wall 15 is replaced by a disc partition. The pump itself is made substantially symmetrical about this disc partition so as to include a second rotor 44, a second impeller 30 and a second valve body 20. The pump casing 16 is belt driven about the two stationary valve bodies 20, and a blower is formed on the periphery of rotating casing 16.

It will be appreciated that in any of these illustrative embodiments the end of the valve body 20 and the interior of the sleeve 18 may be tapered slightly as mating surfaces so as to enable compensation for any slight wear over extended periods of time.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the various embodiments of the liquid-ring pumps and liquid fuel burner systems of the present invention as described above are well suited to provide the advantages set forth. It will be appreciated from the foregoing that many possible embodiments may be made of the various features of this invention and the apparatus herein described may be varied in various parts, all without departing from the scope of the invention, and that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense, and that, in certain instances, some of the features of the invention may be used without a corresponding use of other features, all without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A fluid-ring pump comprising a casing rotatable about an axis for holding a ring of fluid. against the casing by centrifugal force, an impeller concentrically positioned within said casing and defining a plurality of pockets positioned at spaced points about said axis of rota tion, a valve body having intake and output passages therein, said casing having port means therein for provid ing communication between successive selected pockets and said intake and output passages as said casing is rotating, and a rotor eccentrically positioned within said casing for forcibly displacing said fluid ring inwardly and outwardly with respect to said pockets for providing a pumping action.

2. A fluid-ring pump comprising a casing rotatable about an axis for holding a ring of fluid against the casing by centrifugal force, an impeller concentrically positioned within said casing and defining a plurality of pockets positioned at spaced points about said axis of rotation, a valve body having intake and output passages therein, said casing having port means therein for providing communication between successive selected pockets and said intake and output passages as said casing is rotated, and a circular rotor eccentrically positioned within said casing for forcibly displacing said fluid ring inwardly and outwardly with respect to said pockets for providing a pumping action, said rotor having a plurality of blades projecting therefrom and engaging in said ring of fluid as said casing is rotated.

3. A fluid-ring pump comprising rotatable casing apparatus, said casing apparatus being adapted to hold a fluid therein and being rotatable about an axis for holding ring of said fluid out away from the axis against the casing by centrifugal force, said casing apparatus containing a plurality of elements defining a plurality of pockets extending radially within the casing and spaced about the axis, said casing having port means therein communicating with said pockets, a valve body having intake and output passages communicating with said port means, and a rotor eccentrically positioned within said casing for forcibly displacing said fluid ring inwardly and outwardly with respect to said pockets for providing a pumping action.

4. A fluid-ring pump comprising rotatable casing apparatus, said casing apparatus being adapted to hold a fluid therein and being rotatable about an axis for holding said fluid out away from the axis by centrifugal force for forming a ring of said fluid, said casing apparatus containing a plurality of elements defining a plurality of pockets extending outwardly within the casing and spaced about said axis of rotation, said casing apparatus having port means communicating with said pockets, stationary support means positioned on said axis and extending into said casing apparatus, bearing means secured to said support means and eccentrically positioned within said casing apparatus for defining an eccentric axis of rotation therein, and a rotor eccentrically positioned within said casing apparatus and supported on said bearing means for rotation about said eccentric axis for forcibly displacing said fluid ring inwardly and outwardly with respect to said pockets for providing a pumping action as said casing is rotated.

5. A fluid-ring pump comprising frame means, a casing rotatably mounted on said frame means, said casing being adapted to hold a fluid therein and being rotatable about an axis for holding a ring of said fluid out away from said axis against the casing by centrifugal force, said casing containing a plurality of blade elements extending outwardly therein for defining a plurality of pockets extending outwardly within the casing, said pockets being spaced about said axis, said casing having port means therein communicating with said pockets, bearing means eccentrically positioned within said rotatable casing for defining an eccentric axis of rotation therein, a rotor eccentrically positioned within said casing and supported by said bearing means for rotation about said eccentric axis for forcibly displacing said fluid ring inwardly and outwardly with respect to said pockets for providing a pumping action, and driving means for rotating said rotor within said rotatable casing.

6. A fluid-ring pump as claimed in claim and wherein said driving means for rotating said rotor within said rotatable casing includes a plurality of blades extending from said rotor and engaging said fluid ring.

7. A fluid-ring pump as claimed in claim 6 and wherein said rotor has a periphery which slopes radially inwardly between said blades in a direction toward said pockets.

8. A fluid-ring pump as claimed in claim 5 and wherein said driving means for rotating said rotor within said rotatable casing includes mechanism coupled from said casing to said rotor.

9. A fluid-ring pump comprising a rotatable casing, said casing apparatus being adapted to hold a fluid therein and being rotatable about an axis for holding said fluid out away from the axis against the casing by centrifugal force for forming a ring of said fluid, said casing containing a plurality of impeller blade elements defining a plurality of pockets extending outwardly within the casing and spaced about said axis of rotation, said casing having port means communicating with said pockets, valve means having intake and output chambers communicating with selected ones of said port means, bearing means positioned within said casing offset from said axis of rotation for defining an eccentric axis of rotation therein, a rotor eccentrically positioned within said casing and supported on said bearing means for rotation about said eccentric axis for forcibly displacing said fluid ring inwardly and outwardly with respect to said pockets for providing a pumping action, said rotor having a plurality of slots therein extending outwardly from said eccentric axis, and a plurality of vanes movably mounted in said slots and extending outwardly into contact with said casing adjacent to said impeller blade elements.

10. A fluid-ring pump comprising frame means, a cylindrical casing rotatably mounted on said frame means, said casing being adapted to hold a fluid therein and being rotatable about a concentric axis for holding said fluid out against said cylindrical casing by centrifugal force for forming a ring of said fluid against said cylindrical casing, a plurality of impeller blade elements within said cylindrical casing and extending outwardly therein for defining a plurality of pockets extending outwardly within the casing, said pockets being spaced about said concentric axis, said casing having port means therein communicating with said pockets, valve means having intake and output passages communicating with said port means, said casing defining a cavity therein axially displaced from said pockets and communicating with said pockets, bearing means eccentrically positioned within said rotatable casing for defining an eccentric axis of rotation therein, and a rotor eccentrically positioned within said casing and located in said cavity and supported by said bearing means for rotation about said eccentric axis for forcibly displacing said fluid ring inwardly and outwardly with respect to said pockets for providing a pumping action as said casing is rotated.

11. A fluid-ring pump comprising frame means, a cylindrical casing rotatably mounted on said frame means, said casing being adapted to hold two fluids therein of different densities per unit volume and being rotatable about a concentric axis for holding the denser fluid out against said cylindrical casing by centrifugal force for forming a ring of said denser fluid against said cylindrical casing to provide an interface between the denser and less dense fluids, a plurality of impeller blade elements within said cylindrical casing and extending outwardly therein for defining a plurality of pockets extending outwardly within the casing, said pockets being spaced about said concentric axis, said casing defining a cavity therein axially displaced from said pockets, a radial bafi le positioned between said cavity and said pockets, said baffle extending outwardly and having a periphery spaced inwardly from said casing for providing communication between said cavity and said pockets beyond the periphery of said baflie, said casing having a plurality of ports therein opening into respective ones of said pockets at points spaced radially inwardly from the periphery of said baffle, valve means having intake and output passages in communication with selected ones of said ports as said casing is rotated, bearing means eccentrically positioned within said rotatable casing for defining an eccentric axis of rotation therein, a rotor eccentrically positioned within said casing and located in said cavity adjacent to said baflle and supported by said bearing means for rotation about said eccentric axis for forcibly displacing said ring of denser fluid inwardly and outwardly with respect to said pockets for moving said interface inwardly and outwardly in said pockets as said casing is rotated for pumping said less dense fluid from said intake to said output passages.

12. A fluid-ring pump as claimed in claim 11 and wherein the periphery of said baflle slopes radially inwardly in a direction toward said pockets and said rotor has a periphery which also slopes radially inwardly in a direction toward said pockets.

13. A liquid-ring pump comprising a casing adapted to contain a liquid and a gas, said casing being rotatably mounted for rotation about a concentric axis for holding a ring of liquid out against the casing by centrifugal force for defining an interface between the liquid and the gas, an impeller concentrically positioned within said casing and defining a plurality of pockets positioned at spaced points about said concentric axis of rotation, a concentric hub member rotatable with said casing and having a plurality of ports therein communicating with respective ones of said pockets, stationary valve means adjacent to said hub member and having stationary intake and output chambers therein adjacent to said ports and communicating with selected ones of said ports as said concentric hub member and casing are rotated, and displacement means mounted within said casing and offset from said concentric axis in fixed eccentric relationship with respect to said intake and output chambers for forcibly displacing said liquid into and out of said pockets as said hub member and easing are rotating for moving said liquid-gas interface inwardly and outwardly in said pockets to provide a pumping action.

14. A liquid-ring pump as claimed in claim 13 and including blower means rotatable with said casing, and a housing scroll surrounding said blower means for pumping a larger volume of gas at lower pressure, While the pumping action of said liquid-gas interface pumps 21 smaller volume of gas at higher pressure.

15. In an oil burner system, oil and air pumping apparatus comprising a pump casing for containing oil and air, said pump casing having a hub sleeve, a valve body extending axially into said hub sleeve and rotatably supporting said casing for rotation about an axis, a plurality of impeller blades positioned within said casing extending outwardly from said hub sleeve and defining a plurality of pockets positioned at spaced points about said hub sleeve, means for rotating said casing about said axis for holding a ring of oil out against the casing by centrifugal force with air in said pockets within said ring of oil, said hub sleeve having a plurality of ports passing therethrough from its interior and communicating with respective ones of said pockets, said valve body having intake and output passages therein communicating with the inner ends of said ports as said hub sleeve and casing are rotated, and oil displacement means eccentrically positioned within said casing adjacent to said impeller blades for forcibly displacing said ring of oil inwardly and outwardly with respect to said pockets for providing a pumping action.

16. In an oil burner system as claimed in claim 15, oil and air pumping apparatus wherein said valve member and hub sleeve have tapered mating surfaces, and said valve member and hub sleeve are relatively axially movable for compensating for any slight wear thereof during a long period of usage.

4/1950 Austria. 11/ 1935 Great Britain.

FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

R. A. DUA, Assistant Examiner, 

1. A FLUID-RING PUMP COMPRISING A CASING ROTATABLE ABOUT AN AXIS FOR HOLDING A RING OF FLUID AGAINST THE CASING BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE, AN IMPELLER CONCENTRICALLY POSITIONED WITHIN SAID CASING AND DEFINING A PLURALITY OF POCKETS POSITIONED AT SPACED POINTS ABOUT SAID AXIS OF ROTATION, A VALVE BODY HAVING INTAKE AND OUTPUT PASSAGES THEREIN, SAID CASING HAVING PORT MEANS THEREIN FOR PROVIDING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE SELECTED POCKETS AND SAID INTAKE AND OUTPUT PASSAGES AS SAID CASING IS ROTATING, AND A ROTOR ECCENTRICALLY POSITIONED WITHIN SAID CASING FOR FORCIBLY DISPLACING SAID FLUID RING INWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID POCKETS FOR PROVIDING A PUMPING ACTION. 